Idaho National Laboratory

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The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is an 890-square-mile (2,300-km²) complex located in the Idaho desert between the towns of Arco and Idaho Falls, at 43.52° N 113.0° W. It was established in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) and subsequently renamed to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in the 1970s. In 1997, the name was changed again to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). On February 1, 2005, Battelle Energy Alliance took over operation of the lab from Bechtel. At this time the laboratory's clean-up activities were moved to a separate contract, the Idaho Cleanup Project, which is managed by contractor CH2M-WG Idaho. Research activities were consolidated in the newly named Idaho National Laboratory. The lab currently employs about 8,000 people.

1 History
2 Future
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
- 5.1 Aerial Photo

[edit] History

The original mission of NRTS was the development of nuclear energy during the immediate post-war years. In 1951, one of the most significant events in the 20th century occurred at the NRTS — the first harnessing of atomic energy for generating electric power. This happened at the Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 (EBR-1). The site of this event is memorialized as a Registered National Historic Landmark open to the public. On July 17, 1955, reactors at the NRTS made Arco, Idaho, the first town in the world to be powered by atomic energy.

On January 3, 1961, the first fatal nuclear reactor accident in the United States occurred at the NRTS. An experimental reactor called SL-1 (Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1) was destroyed when a control rod was removed incorrectly leading to core meltdown and explosion. All three men working in the reactor were killed. Due to the extensive radioactive isotope contamination, all three had to be buried in lead coffins. The events are the subject of a book published in 2003, "Idaho Falls: The untold story of America's first nuclear accident."^[1]

INL operates the Advanced Test Reactor, a facility used to radiate materials or test new components and fuels. Work at INL has included initial development of nuclear reactor designs, testing experimental reactor designs, developing prototype reactors for ships in the US Navy, and developing technologies to manage nuclear waste.

Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 in Idaho, the first reactor to provide electricity for public use.

SL-1 reactor being removed from the National Reactor Testing Station

ATR building grounds in Idaho

[edit] Future

Though it had been reported by media in Idaho for more than two years, on June 27, 2005 the New York Times reported a reactor at INL would be used to manufacture plutonium-238. This isotope is known for its intense alpha decay, which is useful in making extremely long-lived power sources such as RTGs for space probes and heart pacemaker batteries. INL has 52 reactors, three of which are reportedly still operating (see list of nuclear reactors). The Idaho State Journal reported ^[2] that the batteries would be used for a voyage to Jupiter's moons and the New Horizons trip to Pluto.

In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, $1.25 billion was authorized to design and construct a “Next Generation Power Plant Project” for electricity-hydrogen cogeneration at the Idaho National Laboratory, and possibly at existing reactors, to explore production of hydrogen fuel from nuclear power.